Method and apparatus for raising liquids



May 29, 1928. I

. B. ANDREWS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING LIQUIDS Filed July 25, 1925 INVENTOR. Beryam rz flmirews W A TTORNEYS erned by two distinct Patented May '29, 1928.

" arisa UNITED I ST Ares P TEN our-lea.

BENJAMIN Ammaws, or HOUSTON, 'rnxas.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING meu'msl Application filed July 25,

My invention relates to that type of apparatus employing air or a non-condensa- 15 the intake due to its submergence in the liquid to be raised.

While the above described principle of the air lift is basic, lhave discovered that successful-and economical operation is gov- I actions, namely: by displacement, \principally in cases of short lifts, with comparatively large submergence; and by impact, principally'in cases of long lifts with comparatively little submergence. It iswith this latter action that my invention chiefly has to do. Mass and velocity, being functions of impact 'of the fluid medium involved, this invention contemplates their regulation not' only by governing the quantity and pressure of the active medium, asis the general practice, but also by governing the intake of fluid being raised. Apparently the latter has not heretofore been 'done. k

Airlifts haveusually been used where the intake of the riser can be located at a considerable depth below the natural head of oil or water to be pumped. When this head I or submergence' is not available, it is necessary to provide an artificial head. This artificial head may be produced in a number.

of ways, one of which I have illustrated and described'in this application. The principalfeature of this invention, whether t ance is operated under a natural or an artificial head or submergence, is the control of the inflow of the liquid to the education conduit 01; riser so that the backpressure of the mixture of liquid and gas shall be maintained at the most eflicient point for the best action of the air lift. For practicability of construction and convenience. of operation I have here adopted the jet siphon principle for securing artificially the effect of the known a air lifts which are made operative by co-mingling with the caused to flow upward and of one form of my e appli-- 1923. Serial No. s53,74s.-.

required submer ence, because the air or gas 'roducing t e jet at the same time supp ies thefnecessary gaseous medium for lightening the. liquid column. In other words, my invention relates to an accurate adjustment or control of the average specific gravity of the air and liquid in the pipe as it flows upward, so that the static or gravitational back pressure due to the velocity head maintained. by the air jet. For a detail descri tion oi. one form of'my invention, which describe for the purpose of illustrating the principle thereof, reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof in which F ig., 1 is a sectional view of a well, such thereof is never suflicient to counterbalance the upwards pressure as a water or 011 well, the apparatus at the head of the shaft being shown in elevation;

sectional view of the lower end improved apparatus whereby the control of the flow is automatically carried out.

Referrin to the drawing,.the-num'eral 1 indicatest e casing or lining of'an oil or other well, such as is usually provided for driven wells. The numeral 2 indicates a central pipe through which the liquid is raised by means of the air jet 3 supplied with compressed air through the me 4. The upper end of the pipe 2, which, for

Fig. 2 is a conven ence, will bereferred te as the riser, .is provided at its upper end wlth a sultable pipe fitting 5, to which the horizontal delivery pipe .6 is pivoted in any suitable manner, as indicated at 7 The top of the fitting 5is provided with a cap 8, which carries a lifting screw 9 which passes head or yoke 10 of the supporting frames 11. The screw 9 engages a hand wheel'having an axial screw threaded opening forming a nut which supports the screw and the entire structure attached to it.. The hub of the hand wheel'is preferable provided with an antifrictional thrust bearing where it rests on the yoke 10, as indicated at 13.. The pipe .4 is held in position at its upper end in any. suitable way, such as b passing. through a. lug 14'carried by the fitting 5' and is rovi'de with a fittin or connection 15 whic allows the air supp y pipe 16to turn in a vertical plane relative to pipe through the cross 4. The air supply pipe 16 is also preferably provided with a controlling valve 17.

The parts above referred to need not be in the form or arrangement described, as any similar construction for accomplishing the same results may be used instead. The lower end of the riser 2 is perferably slightly reduced in size, as indicated at 20, so that the end ofthe jet 3 is located at or near the most restricted point. The lower end of the pipe 2 is provided with a flanged foot piece .or member 21 having a tapering opening therein, as illustrated at-22. The flanged portion ofthe member 21 carries a downwardl projecting spider 23 which holds in positi n a ring or guiding 'member 24. Through this member passes the movable valve member 25-having a conical or tapering end, as clearly illustrated in the drawing.

20, The valve member 25 is provided at its lower end with an extended base which may take any suitableform, but is shown in the form of four arms 26 at right angles to each other- A compression spring 27 surrounds the valve 25 member 25 and rests against a bearing ring 28 which is held in position b the sleeving 24:. The arms 26 are provi ed with upwardly extending rods 29 which pass through the flanged member 21 and are provided 30 with heads tdprevent disengagement. The

operation of theapparatus, as just described, maybe explained as follows: The riser 2 with the air supply pipe 4 with all of the parts attached to the lower end thereof, is

I 35' lowered into the well in any suitable or well" known manner. until the foot member 26 rests uponor is near the bottom of the well. The supporting structure with the pipes 6 and 16 is then placed in position. The hand wheel 12 is then turneduntil the foot piece 26 rests on the bottom of the well and the opening 22 ispartiall closed by the movable attached pipe 4,'so that the opening 22 is.

adjusted to permit an inflow. of oi-lor other l1q'u1d so that the. same," afterpassing-theet 3, Will have the correct average specific gravity to obtain the maximum 'yolume of flow at the top of the well.

The maximuin flow is, obtained-not. only hen-the liquid issues fromv the well in a fine mist or spray, but when the atomization has taken place at the intake of the eduction tube, and when a continuous stream'of finely comminuted liquid pension inv the'g'asmedium has been aintai'nedthroughout its transit of the eduction tube. The atomization of the liquid is obtained by the impact of the gaseous medium against the liquid drawn upwardly past the valve 19 and around the nozzle 3 of the gaseous inlet. The rate of inflow of liquid past the valve must be regulated in amount so that, when the liquid is acted upon by the blast of the gaseous medium through the constricted channel 20, it will be thoroughly broken up into a fiuespray which will be maintained in its atomized condition andcarried upwardly in the stream of gaseous medium to the surface. f

It is, of course, very desirable that the intake valve at the bottomyof the riser becontrolled automatically. In Fig. 2 I have illustrated an arrangement which I have designed for this purpose. The numeral 2' indicates the riser similar to that illustrated .in. Fig. 1. To the lower end of this riser is attached a corrugated, preferably a metallic, tube 30, which carries at its lower-end a tapering intake portion 31. Where the parts 30, 31 are joined together, a suitablecollar 32 is provided, which forms a bearing for the compression spring, indicated at 39, the purpose of which will be described; later. Adjacent the lower end of the tapering member 31 is the nozzle 33 connected with the bend 34 which is supplied with air through the pipe 1 similar to the pipe 4 in Fig. 1. The upper end of the nozzle 33 projects into the tapering intake member 31 and its lower ortion forms a valve member with said intake member, the space between said arts being varied as hereinafter described? bend 34 passes, surrounds the corrugated pipe 30 and the tapering portion 31; This casing carries internal collar 36 adjustably .secured in position in any suitable manner, such as by the screws 37. Upon collar 36 rests a flanged bearing plate. 38.which holds inposition the lower end of a compression spring 39. The annular ring 32 rests upon the top of the spring 39 and guides the corrugated tube 30 above referred to. Adjacent the lower end of the riser 2 is a screw threaded bushing 41 which is fixed in position thereon in any suitable manner. The screw threads of. bushing 41 engage internal A cylindrical casing 35," through which the screw threads'42, at the upper end of the casing 35, which also is provided with a laterally extendingbracket 43 serving as a support for the air pipeletf.

- The operation of this form of my device is as follows: Assuming that ai-r is being forced'thro'ugh the pipe thunder pressure, and .issued from the nozzle 33 into the re- 'stricted portion 31 of the riser. This draws the oil from the" lower part of'the casing into;said restricted portionand forces the mixed oil and air upward in a certain proportion, depending upon the space between i.

' pressure within the corrugated elastic porthe nozzle 33 and the end of the restricted portion 31. This will produce a difinite tion 30 of the riser, depending upon the head or the height'to which the liquid is to be raised. If the pressure in said riser u ward flow tends tli com rises, supplying at a point ad acent becomes so great that the to be stopped or retarded, e pressure with-' in the corrugated elastic portion 30 will be increased,. thereby producing a downward pressure upon the restricted portion 31, which pressure depends upon the difference in cross sectionbetween the smallest diameter of said restricted portion and. the diameter at its upper end, as will be readily understood by one familiar with hydrostatics. This pressure-will-compress spring- 39, thereby forcing the restricted portion 31 to. a' lower position, which reduces the amount of space between the nozzle 33 and the lower end of the restricted tube 31. Thus the flow of oil will be reduced and the ercentage thereof mixed with the air is tiiereby lessened, so that the specific gravity ofthe mixture in the riser 2 is also reduced, thereby decreasing the static head. This will allow the upward flow of ,the liquid to again resume its normal velocity until the same is again changed by some external condition. It will be appreciated from the above that the reverse action takes place should pressure within the riser 2 be reduced below the normal amount, .so that the space between the nozzle 33 and the tube 31 is increased, allowing more liquid to enter the latter. The tension of said spring 39 may be adjusted before the riser is in a well by placing the screws 37 in the proper position and by rotating the pipe so that the, screw threads 41 raise or lower the casing and consequently the collar 36, thereby relieving or'partly releasing the compression'o-f the spring 39.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a simple and eflicient means for controlling the intake of liquid at-the lower end ofthe riser of an air jet, and upon this means depends the successful operation of air jets of this type for raising liquids, particularly when comparatively large static heads are to be overcome, such as in the case of deep oil wells.

I do not wish to be understood as being limited to the details of form and arrangement of parts set forth, for various changes may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, nor do I wish to be understood as being limited to the use-of the apparatus described in the raisingof petroleum of crude oil from oil wells, for' the' device is capable of various applications which will be obvious from the Neither do general principles involved in its operation. I wish to be understood as being limited to the use of air under ressure as a the ase of a column of the liquid to; be raised, a non condensible gaseous medium under substantially constant ressure and causing a variable quantity 0 said liquid to be mixed with said gaseousmedium at said point so that'said liquid will be mixed with said, medium in such amounts as to maintain a pressure of said liquid and gaseous medium such that a substantially constant upward flow of said mixture is produced and variation in external hydrostatic head is counteracted.

2. The method of raising liquids whiclr comprises, supplying at a point adjacent the base-of a column 'of the liquid -to be raised a non-condensible gaseous medium under substantially constant pressure and controlling the inflow of the liquid at the base of said column so as to maintain a back pressure of the liquid laden gaseous mixture lower than that of the variable head of. the liquid being raised- 3. The method 'of raising liquids which comprises, supplying at a point adjacent the base of a column of the liquid to be. raised said column so as to" maintain -a back gaseous medium.

a non-condensible gaseous medium under substantially constant pressure and controlling the inflow ofthe liquid at the base of the base of a column of the liquid to'be raised a non-condensible gaseous medium under pressure, and controlling the pressure of the liquid laden air at the base of said column by regulating therate of inflow of the liquid being raised in accordance with the variable back pressure of said mixture. 5. The method of raising liquids whichcomprises, supplying at'a point adjacent the base of column of the liquid to he raised a" non con'densible gaseous medium under pressure, and controlling the pressure of the liquid .laden gaseous mixture at the base of said column at a point lower than the operative head of the gaseousmediu'n'a' by regulating the rate of infiow of said liquid to be raised in an inverse-proportion- .to the pressure of said mixture.

6. The me-liod of raising liquids which comprises, supplying at a point adjacent the'bas e of a column of the liquid to Q);

raiseda non-condensible gaseous medium under pressure, controlling the pressure of base of a column of the liquid laden gaseous medium at the base of said column so that saidpressureshall be lower than the operative head of the gaseous medium b regulating the rate of inflow of said liqui being raised in an inverse proportion to the pressure ofsaid mixture.

7. The method of raising liquids which com rises, sn 1. in at a oint adjacent the p pp y the liquid to be raised a non-condensible gaseous medium under substantially constant pressure, the baseof said column of liquid being submerged in the body of the liquid, and regulating the admission of the liquid to said column to such an amount that the effective back pressure of the mixture of said gaseous medi-;

um and said liquid is maintained at a point lower than that produced by said gaseous medium and said submergence.

8. The method of raising liquids which comprises, supplying at a pointadjacent the base of a column of the liquid to be raised a non-condensible'gaseous medium under substantially constant pres sure, and controlling the admission of liquid at the base of said column according to the variable external head thereof so that the difference between the effective back pressure of the mixture of the gaseous medium and liquid is maintained at such an:amount that the pressure of said gaseous medium will prouce a substantially constant upward flow of said mixture. 1

9, The method of raising liquids which comprises, supplying at a point adjacent the base of a column of the liquid, to be raised an upwardly directed flow of a suitable non condensible gaseous medium under substantially contant pressure whereby the liquid in said column is aerated and its gravitational pressure reduced to a'point substantially lower than that of the liquid drawn in by said flow, and regulating the inflow of said liquid whereby a back pressure kof the mix-.

ture isproduced that is substantially less than the ressure of said gaseous'medium.

10. A evice for raising liquids, comprising an'eduction pipe adapted to extend into the liquid to be raised, a nozzle within said pipe for producing an upward flow of p a suitable non-condensible gaseous medium under pressure, a valve in said eduction' pipe, and controlling means connected with said eduetion pipe and adapted to operate said valve to restrict the flow of the liquid to be mixed with said medium, so that the eifeetive back pressure of the mixture is I made substantially less than the pressure of said medium. 4

11. Adevice for raising liquids comprising, a pipe adapted to extend into the liquid toberai sed, means for producing an up ward flow within said pipe of a suitable non-condensible gaseous medium under pressure, an automatic liquid inlet-valve for means and below said opening.

controlling the intake of said liquid, and operating meanstherefor actuated by the back pressure above or beyond said flowproducing meansso that said back pressure is substantially less than that of said gas-- eous medium.

12. A device for raising liquids comprising, a pipe adapted to extend into the liquid to be raised, a nozzle Within said pipe for producing-an upward flow of a suitable noncondensible gaseous medium under pressure,

an automatic liquid inlet valve controlling the flow of liquid past said nozzle and operating means therefor actuated by the back pressure above or beyond said nozzle 'so that said back pressureis substantially less than that of said gaseous medium.

13. A device for raising liquids comprising, a pipe adapted to extend into the liquid to be raised, means for producing an upward flow in saidpipe of a suitable non-condensible gaseous medium under pressure, said pipe having an inlet opening adjacent its lower end, a valve member for varying the area of said opening to control the intake of said liquid and means for varying the relative positions of said valve member and said opening and operated by the back pressure above said flow producing means.

14. A device for. raising liquids comprising, a pipe adapted to extend into the liquid tobe raised, means for producing an upward flow of a suitable gaseous medium under pressure, said pipe having an inlet opening adjacent its lower end, a valve member for varying the area of said opening to control the intake of said liquid, meansfor auto-.

matically controlling the relative positions of said opening and said valve member and means for actuating the same by the variations of pressure above said flow producing 15. device for raising liquids comprising, a pipe adapted to extend into the liquid to be raised, means in said pipe for producing an upward flow of a suitable gasepart upon which the pressure within-said pipe is adapted to act, resilient counterbal ancing means adapted to oppose said pressure and determine the relative normal positions of said opening and said valve member and controlled by the variations of pressure above said opening. I

Signed this 20th day of July, 1923.

BENJAJHIN ANDREWS.

, QERHFICA'EE or QQRRECTMN i ateht No. 1,671,564. I. Granted May 29. 1928,. to

BENJAMIN ANDREWS.

it is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiringcorrection as follows: Page 1, line 4X7, tor the Word "education",read "eduction"; page 3, line 61, for the word "of" read "or"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the'case in the Patent Qifice.

Signed and sealed this 10th day of July, A. D. 1928.

M. J. Moore;

(Seal) Acting Gommissioner of Patents. 

